New Reviews: Biography & Memoir

The limited time she had to campaign was just one of the many obstacles Kamala Harris had to overcome as the first woman of color to run for president. Though she's been accused of seeing herself as a victim in this revealing political memoir, the tone of her performance gently rejects that characterization. With her careful phrasing and clear enunciation, she sounds calm,... Read More

Anna Caputo gives a terrific performance of this memoir about growing up deaf in a hearing world. While author Rachel Kolb is accomplished--she was the first signing deaf person to become a Rhodes Scholar--her writing is down-to-earth and relatable. With an intelligent, empathetic intonation, Caputo imparts Kolb's life story, including the many adjustments she needed to make to... Read More

For more than 24 stunning hours, narrator Ron Butler immerses listeners in the world of writer James Baldwin. This detailed biography structures Baldwin's life around his greatest loves, the people who filled so many of his thoughts. Baldwin travels the globe and makes a name for himself as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, but he's always drawn back to the... Read More

Author Ian Kelly brings both authority and warmth to his narration of his engaging look at the life and work of Antonin Carême, whom he bills as the first celebrity chef. Kelly lends an elegant rhythm to the historical details of Carême's rise from humble origins to renowned restaurateur. His steady pacing allows listeners to savor the richness of the early nineteenth century... Read More

Marni Penning brings cheerleader enthusiasm to this celebration of Claire McCardell, the pioneering early-twentieth-century American designer who thought women's clothes should be comfortable, as well as stylish. Maryland-born McCardell pioneered the kind of clothes we rely on today--ready-to-wear separates that can be mixed and matched into different outfits. She incorporated... Read More

Multiple narrators come together to create an audio portrait that is part biography, part celebration, and part theatrical tribute to author Douglas Adams, best known for THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Arvind Ethan David's clear, engaging presence guides listeners through reflections on the life and work of the singular humorist. Archival contributions from Douglas Adams... Read More

First-generation Cuban American Frankie Corzo's own experience illuminates her narration of this story of the Cuban diaspora. Rosita, the author's grandmother, born and raised in Cuba, was forced into exile when her husband was deemed a threat to Fidel Castro. Sheppard traces Cuba's history from its "discovery" by Spain to Castro's rise to power. Through interviews with Rosita,... Read More

It's impossible to overstate the power of hearing Palestinian writer Plestia Alaqad narrating her diaries of life under Israeli occupation. Delivering her audiobook in her melodic Arabic accent is a remarkable act of resistance in a war in which journalists are routinely targeted. Alaqad rose to prominence at the age of 21 for her reporting during the first six weeks of the... Read More

Francesca Wade has clearly researched the work and times of Gertrude Stein, and she narrates her findings adeptly in this new biography. Stein was well known for her bohemian lifestyle; her talented and fascinating group of friends, including Picasso, Matisse, and Hemingway; and her quixotic writing style. Wade's discoveries include the origins of Stein's writing style and the... Read More

In this beautiful memoir, a 50-something woman and a South Indian businessman/climate activist fall in love--both for the first time. He dies shortly after they become engaged but reappears in her life to help her find love again. The ensuing conversations couldn't have been performed by anyone but author Alison Larkin, a veteran narrator known for her exceptional performances... Read More

Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at one of the most influential Reform synagogues in the country, tells her story with the same energetic, approachable delivery she employs in her public speaking. Her path to the rabbinate was anything but usual; Buchdahl was born in Seoul, South Korea, to an Asian Buddhist mother and a white Jewish father. Each biographical chapter of the... Read More

While listeners will miss his unmistakable voice, this assemblage of David McCullough's shorter uncollected pieces offers illuminating glimpses of the popular historian's work habits and methods. Commemorative speeches, his PARIS REVIEW interview, and his reflections on writing about Harry Truman, Abigail Adams, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Panama Canal remind listeners of... Read More

Now released from prison, former NSA linguist Reality Winner becomes all the more compelling with narrator Rachel Perry's measured performance. Perry captures Winner's earnest desire to be a patriot serving her country. It was Winner's passion for learning languages that led to her being awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal, though those actions gave her PTSD in the process.... Read More

Hillary Huber's steady narration enhances this biography of the unlikely phenomenon that was Victoria Woodhull. Born in rural Ohio in 1838 to a con man and a spiritualist, Woodhull went from rags to riches twice and married thrice while reinventing herself during a long life. She was a spiritualist, a Christian, a free-love proponent, a stockbroker, a suffrage supporter, a... Read More

Roderick Sewell II--Paralympic athlete and Iron Man champion, motivational speaker, and disability advocate--shares his resilience and joy in his impactful memoir. Sewell's performance exudes calm strength as he talks about the myriad challenges he and his mother faced during his childhood in San Diego and Alabama in the 1990s. Their difficulties included struggling to afford... Read More

A'Lelia Bundles narrates her biography of her great-grandmother, A'Lelia Walker, with pride. A'Lelia Walker was the daughter of the first wealthy African American woman, Madam C.J. Walker, who created a Black hair-care empire long before the Civil Rights movement. Bundles projects the excitement of the historical period in which A'Lelia--stubborn and loyal to a fault--set out... Read More

Susan Orlean, a NEW YORKER columnist and one of the early writers to bring inventiveness into creative nonfiction, shows her perfect sense of timing in both the writing and the narration of her memoir. Using the same thoughtful detail and pithy wit she's known for, Orlean now turns the lens inward, discussing her life and her extraordinary relationship with the creative... Read More

This audiobook written and read by award-winning journalist Sara Kehaulani Goo is the story of her family's property on the east side of Maui, which was given to them in 1848 by the King of Hawai'i. They never developed the land but continue to be committed to protecting their ownership. As the value of the land has increased, the taxes have risen, and it's become increasingly... Read More

Actor Javier Muñoz, who also starred in HAMILTON, delivers an engaging performance as he delivers this biography of playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. Muñoz gives a much-deserved sense of joy to Pollack-Pelzner's careful research, amusing anecdotes, and quotes from Miranda, overlooking nothing from his early life to his later influences. Special attention is paid to Miranda's... Read More

Karen Murray performs this must-listen biography of one of America's greatest writers. Science fiction and fantasy author Octavia Butler was an early trailblazer of Afrofuturism. Morris highlights how Butler's identity as a working-class Black woman informed her writing throughout her career. She was a deep thinker, ruminating on big questions around the foundation of American... Read More

Deaf poet Raymond Antrobus dazzles in this spellbinding account of his life as a mixed-race young man from East London. Born to an English mother and a Jamaican father, Antrobus always felt out of place. When he was 6, a doctor explained that he was deaf. Finding poetry revolutionized his relationship to sound and gave him the confidence to embrace his life as a member of the... Read More

Golden Voice Narrator JD Jackson, whose tone and style elevate any audiobook, smoothly narrates NBA superstar Stephen Curry's memoir/self-help audiobook. First, the all-time three-point leader himself delivers his prologue, in which he sets forth how he became "shot ready" on the court and in life. Then, in a humble tone that reflects the writing, Jackson captures the... Read More

Award-winning performer Cynthia Erivo narrates her own memoir in which she focuses on what it means to fully embrace yourself, even if others do not. Today, Erivo is beloved for her role as Elphaba in the film adaptation of the musical WICKED, but as a child she was frequently told she asked too many questions and to stop being "too much." Performing her story herself, Erivo... Read More

Christine Brown Woolley, one of the wives in TLC's "Sister Wives" series, bares her soul in this candid memoir about polygamous life, leaving behind what no longer serves you, and finding yourself in the broken pieces. In 2010, Woolley became a household name through the TV show, which broadcast episodes of the daily lives of an Apostolic United Brethren family, the Browns.... Read More

This audiobook, narrated by Bobbi Brown herself, traces her path from makeup artist to industry expert--from being at the whim of whichever magazines would invite her to fashion shoots to being quoted in those same publications. Brown is an engaging storyteller with perfect pacing. She infuses every memory with the perfect amount of emotion: a well-timed pause after a... Read More

More than 50 years ago, Bruce Springsteen set out to make an album--not just any album, one that had to be just right, perfect rock and roll. Through that diligence, attention to detail, collaboration, and long days and nights, the seminal BORN TO RUN album was created. Peter Ames Carlin narrates his own work, and he does it well, song by song. Through clear enunciation and... Read More

Carol Moseley Braun, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, delivers the prologue to her remarkable story. Then, Golden Voice Narrator Bahni Turpin takes over, weaving Braun's journey of grit, resilience, and groundbreaking achievement into a compelling listening experience. Through Braun's life and career in law and politics, listeners also gain a vivid window onto... Read More

Actor Tim Curry narrates his memoir recounting five decades of his work on stage, screen, and television. Curry's early life gave him the "heart of a vagabond," a path he's continued throughout a diversity of famed roles. As only he can, Curry gives detailed views of his legendary parts in movies such as THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and SPAMALOT. His narration conveys his... Read More

This extensive, thoughtful, and well-researched biography of the martial arts great Bruce Lee smoothly draws the listener in. Lee was an enigma in some ways, and author Chang has captured his life, which was cut short at age 32. Narrator James Chen deftly uses slight shifts in his voice when delivering quotes. He maintains control of his tone, making shifts when appropriate but... Read More

If you associate the Jane Austen you learned about in school with the words "prim" and "proper," then you need to listen to what one of the leading scholars of Austen's work has to say about the famous writer. This audiobook, which covers Austen's full body of work--the early short stories, as well as the published novels--adds greatly to the existing literature around the... Read More